Ralph D Cheney

Ralph Deen Cheney, born January 22, 1959, was found deceased in his home on December
10, 2024. Ralph was a healthy, thriving member of the manufacturing workforce in addition to
the city he called home for most of his adult life, New Britain, CT. Ralph suffered a cardiac
episode, which led to his untimely passing.

Ralph was born in Hartford, CT as the proud son to the late Marguerite and Richard O. Cheney
III. While Ralph grew up and went to high school in Kensington, CT, the place that truly held
Ralph’s heart was his family’s cottage on Mason’s Island in Mystic, CT. Some of his most
cherished memories have origins on Mason’s Island, especially bringing his sons there so that
they could form their very own special memories with their cousins to hold in their hearts as they
grew, just as he did with his.

Summers at Mason’s Island created a lifelong love of the water and boating. Ralph learned to
sail off Mason’s Island and he used this knowledge to teach his sons how to operate the family
motorboat as soon as they could see over the console. Boat rides from Mason’s Island down to
Napatree Beach were a highlight of every summer for Ralph and his sons alike. His son Todd
speaks fondly of a time they discovered a faulty fuel gage on the boat a bit too late… when they
ran out of fuel and were stranded in the ocean on their way home from the beach. Luckily, they
were spotted by another boater who loaned them a spare tank with just enough fuel left in it to
get them home.

If Ralph wasn’t able to be on the water, you would find him on his Harley. He loved taking long
rides through winding roads to decompress, often bringing his son Todd, who shares a similar
love of motorcycles, on scenic trips through Connecticut’s backroads.

Ralph followed a career in manufacturing Quality Assurance, rising from Inspector to Quality
Engineer in a number of Connecticut manufacturing and research facilities, including Teleco
Oilfield Services, Ensign Bickford, Creed Monarch, Enjet, and Mirion Technologies. He was a
past Chairperson of the New Britain Board of Fire Commissioners and was a current member of
the City’s Ethics Commission.

When Ralph’s family went to collect his personal items from his most recent job at Mirion
Technologies, they were greeted by nearly the whole floor who shared their favorite attributes of
their deceased colleague. He will be remembered fondly by all as the kind, gentle, strong man
that he was, in addition to his unrelenting humor. His bad dad jokes specifically were a favorite
to most. The loss of his presence at Mirion was palpable, and Ralph’s family remains grateful
that he found a company that he truly loved working for, where he could get excited for really
good breakfast and lunch options.

Ralph held a lot of titles across his many years in the workforce, but his favorite title by far was
“Todd and Ben’s dad.” Ralph will be admired and remembered warmly by all those whose lives
he touched for not only his strong work ethic, composure, compassion, and humor, but for his
unwavering decision to take an active role in raising his sons. He volunteered to become a
coach with New Britain Youth Soccer League to coach Todd and Ben and later became the
president of the league to ensure the program’s success. He worked tirelessly with other league
coaches and volunteers to build the concession stand that still stands at the Willow Brook
Soccer Fields to this day.

Ralph will also be remembered for his eagerness to learn new skills and trades. Most recently
his interests included, but were not limited to, masterfully aging and smoking beautiful cuts of

meat for his friends and family, but ESPECIALLY for his two grandpups, huskies Delilah and
Dakota, who will miss him most of all. Ralph also dabbled with juicing and making vanilla extract
from scratch. One of his favorite things to do with his homemade vanilla extract was to pass
bottles of it in bulk along to his daughter-in-law, Jessica, who loves to bake. He would always
tease her about how he never expected her to bake him anything with it, but if she happened to
find herself wanting to bake, he would make sure that he provided an elaborate list of the treats
he might consider accepting in the funniest, most loving way.

Ralph was a remarkable man who always stood up for the underdog. He was unafraid to speak
his mind, but he always did so in the most respectful, admirable way. He was a fierce protector
of those he loved. While our time with him was cut far too short, we will hold his memories close
and take solace in the fact that he has been reunited with his son, Ben, and all those he loved
who passed before him.

Ralph is survived by his son, Todd D. Cheney and Todd’s wife, Jessica Luby of New Britain, CT,
his sister Susan Carney (Jim) of Winchester, MA, and brother Richard O Cheney IV (Lorraine)
of Somers, CT, as well as several nephews, and many colleagues and friends, including his
former wife, Catherine Cheney. He was predeceased by his son Bennett Clark Cheney in 2012.
Though he always knew that he had been adopted, he was only recently convinced to add his
DNA results to Ancestry, which led to the discovery of, and connection with, several biological
half-siblings and their families. He had enjoyed getting to know them and took pride in extending
his familial relationships.

Todd and Jessica invite you to a memorial gathering in Ralph’s honor, with the hopes of bringing
together friends and family from all aspects of his life, to reconnect and honor his legacy. The
event will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, from 12PM to 3PM at Shuttle Meadow
Country Club (51 Randecker Ln, Berlin, CT 06037). Lite fare will be served, and we kindly ask
that you wear county club-appropriate clothing, i.e., no jeans, t-shirts, etc.

At this celebration of Ralph’s life, there will be designated notecards and a card box for you to
write down a treasured memory, something you learned from Ralph, something about Ralph
that you were grateful for, or simply your condolences to the family. The family hopes you will
consider having something prepared to write down and put in the box, for this will bring comfort
to his loved ones for years to come.

If you would like to make a charitable donation in Ralph’s memory, you are encouraged to make
a donation to any charitable organization for which you are passionate about. If you are looking
for ideas as to where to donate, Ralph himself was involved with and took pride in working
closely with Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 8 – Wreaths Across America (PO Box 266.
New Britain, CT. 06050) and the New Britain High School Marching Band, for which Ralph and
his family raised over $100,000 in memory of his son, Ben (NBHS Marching Band, c/o Justin
Carlin, New Britain High School, 110 Mill St, New Britain, Ct 06051). Any donations made in
Ralph’s honor to any charitable organization will be greatly appreciated.